Edinburgh Zoo : Market Research : Visitor Impact Study

Edinburgh Zoo is one of the most popular visitor attractions in Scotland, having been a favourite destination for generations of families. But how many of the 650,000 visitors know that the Zoo is part of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), or that RZSS is Scotland’s leading conservation charity? How many are aware of the Highland Wildlife Park, near Aviemore, the RZSS’s 200 acre ‘Highland estate’? And, most importantly, does a visit to either property teach you about what the RZSS is doing to help ensure the survival of many threatened animal species and their habitats?

GVA RGA has been working closely with staff at RZSS in an attempt to answer these questions. An electronic questionnaire has been running on the Zoo’s website since April 2009. It is focused on capturing data from potential visitors, with a particular emphasis on the strategic objectives of the RZSS.

The electronic format is an extremely cost-effective means of collecting data from visitors and the survey is scheduled to run for a year, allowing the RZSS to receive quarterly updates and monitor the impact that changes have on people’s perception of the RZSS.

Alan Horn, Director of Development at RZSS, said:

“To successfully secure funding in the future, charities will increasingly need to demonstrate that their operational activities deliver their charitable objectives. This is notoriously difficult. We believe that in partnership with GVA RGA we have arrived at an efficient and cost effective mechanism to measure our impact and in addition to gain an insight into the expectations and experience of our visitors. This is a hugely powerful tool.”